The first time Albert Haynesworth almost died, on Halloween of 2014, he woke up in the middle of the night, his head jackhammering, and slammed an entire pack of extra-strength pain-relief powder. He couldn’t see straight and lost his balance. Concerned, he wandered his house, dialing his ex-wife and texting a cardiologist friend. Finally, at sunrise, he left for the emergency room, wearing sunglasses to blunt the painful light. When he arrived, he needed assistance inching down the entryway.
“Send him home,” one doctor suggested. “He’s got a migraine.”
Haynesworth’s cardiologist friend intervened. “I know this guy,” he said of the retired defensive tackle, a two-time All Pro.